Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Not what I expected!
I have long wondered why Vitruvius is so often quoted but so little read.Now I know!

Much of the information in this book has nothing to do with architecture: phases of the moon, water clocks, sun dials, water-organs, odometers, etc.Much of it is anything close to scientific or valid: `people sitting present open pores into which wafts of air penetrate', people from the south have ` less blood because of the impact of the sun', `heat attracts and draws everything to itself', etc.

With respect to architecture per se, most of the buildings referred to are unknown today.Certainly, none of the buildings designed by Vitruvius himself have survived.In addition, the original illustrations are lost.Though drawings made by Palladio in the Renaissance are included, they are, as is pointed out, often fallacious.Overall, it is therefore difficult to grasp the essence of what Vitruvius aims to convey.

The translator certainly does his best but the author's original style is certainly not pedagogical by our standards.In fact, the book is closer to a collage of various notions than to an organized presentation.

All in all, most persons interested in architecture will find it more worthwhile to read something else.

A Classic
A book which was at the heart of architectural theory for over 1500 years can't be entirely outdated.Many of the issues and ideas which Vitruvius brings up are still relevant to modern architecture and, at the very least, give us an idea of the theory behind much architecture, both before and after Vitruvius' life.Of course, it can't be relied upon as a comprehensive guide to architecture and there are some points which are innacurate in terms of history or theory, but you take this book with a pinch of salt, and accept that this is where architectural theory started, and you have to respect it for that!

interesting perspective
Vitruvius's 10 books (or chapters) on architecture lets you view life through the lens of the 1st century BC builder. While Vitruvius does explain the principals of how to build various buildings and rules for the construction and use of columns, perhaps the most amusing part of the book is his description of life and the things that govern it. Throughout the book he describes certain materials that should be selected for building and their composition of the four basic elements: earth, air, fire, and water. In some sections he spends an excessive amount of time making a point, and some points are glossed over. Many of the things he describes we are still doing to this day. A fascinating read all in all.

hard to follow
however, it is an ancient book... I used the dimensions and architectural scales to build my model of a greek temple. Very informative when it comes to that, cause not many books have to-scale drawings of the building.

This is a good book, but Granger's translation is better.
I really enjoyed reading this fascinating book.However, when I compared it to another translation (a two volume edition, translated by Granger) it seemed that it was missing some bits of information.

It was easier to read though, so if you are interested in a casual read, this is the book for you.For a research project, you should probably stick to Granger's books.
... Read more

Product Description
For the first time in more than half a century, Vitruvius' Ten Books on Architecture is being published in English. The only full treatise on architecture and its related arts to survive from classical antiquity, the Architecture libri decem (Ten Books on Architecture) is the single most important work of architectural history in the Western world, having shaped architecture and the image of the architect from the Renaissance to the present. Demonstrating the range of Vitruvius' style, this new edition includes examples from archaeological sites discovered since World War II and not previously published in English language translations. Rowland's new translation and Howe's critical commentary and illustrations provide a new image of Vitruvius, who emerges as an inventive and creative thinker, rather than the normative summarizer, as he was characterized in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Ingrid D. Rowland is an associate professor of Art History at the University of Chicago. Thomas Noble Howe is a professor in the Department of Art at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

vitruvius' classics
Th Ten Books are a must for every architecture student. I must confess I did not read it all at the time of my first year...But Vitruvius' masterpiece on architecture is definitely a must read.

Too many liberties taken with the intent of the text
First off, I should note that I find this version of Vitruvius far more useful than many others, especially in the clearly noted diagrams, explanations of measurement units, and so forth.The editor and translators have done a good job of this aspect of Vitruvius Pollio's work.

However, the translators appear to have taken a few liberties with the text.First, since Vitruvius is a historical work as well as a canon of Classicism, an honest modern-day translation must relate not only to its period, but also to subsequent periods in order to be understood in terms of the nearer to present and Vitruvius' own time.The translators' choice of ridding the text of the translation "the Orders" for Vitruvius' original choice of "genus" is bad enough, but when you observe that this translation has been rendered as "type" instead, it has the potential of blending in with unintended references in the text to type as well as being confused with common modern/Modernist discursions into what type is.The translators should have indicated their theories about what they thought would be a correct interpretation of the Roman word "genus" at the beginning of their notes, not by making a deliberate decision to diverge from the customary content of the text.

Second, this translation appears to fail to take into account some aspects of military culture which have influenced the text.Vitruvius was a military man and although he adopted the linguistic style of Cicero in some respects (who has been accused of using two words in the place of one or even none), sometimes a distinction he makes, albeit slight, is worth noting, especially in the context of his role in the Roman military and in the context of subtle gradations of meaning being just as notable as subtle gradations in style and form.

Third, and most telling, the translators and editors have missed an opportunity to note something very useful in Vitruvius, and that is that although he understood the what of the Orders, he may not have understood the why of the Orders.In some cases, he goes to great lengths to wave hands over certain aspects of the Orders, even devolving into a Ciceronian overuse of words and dense prose, in order to pull a Wizard of Oz-like "pay no attention to the unknowns behind this concept".The translators note the fuzziness, but they don't begin to question the nature of it and as a result, they may inadvertently paint Vitruvius in a little bit better light than he may actually deserve.

Otherwise, it is a well-rendered translation, although for serious readers and researchers it should be balanced with at least one other translation, such as Morgan's translation.

Penn State Student Critique
As a Penn State first year architecture student I have been studying Vitruvius line by line.It is the most inspirational, thought provoking, and interesting book I have ever read.I even hold my own Vitruvian studysessions to review the material and relate all of Vitruvius's topics to theoutside world not even related to architecture.If you are at allinterested in architecture, construction, philosophy, or if you just want adifferent type of book to read I urge you to give this a try.It is trulya remarkable book that has revolutioned and standardized many architecturaldetails. ... Read more

Product Description
The Architecture Reader brings together for the first time texts written by architects of international esteem.Encompassing two thousand years of building history, these writings engage persistent concerns in architecture and design, including the role of the architect, and the relationships between architecture, nature, art and science.

Intended to be at once accessible and thought-provoking, this volume is ideal for a general audience and beginning students of architecture. The carefully chosen texts provide a taste of the multiplicity that characterizes historical and contemporary views of architecture. Krista Sykes organizes the selections chronologically and introduces each with a helpful commentary, contextualizing the author and the salient issues covered in the piece.The excerpts appear in a variety of formats, including interviews, manifestos, lectures and treatises, and are representative of the varied—sometimes conflicting—approaches to building and design. In combination, they provide a fascinating overview of significant concepts within the field of architecture.

The Architecture Reader will be a valuable companion for introductory surveys of architectural history, novice students of architecture, and anyone interested in formative ideas underlying contemporary conceptions of architecture. 20 black and white illustrations ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A must have for architecture buffs
I love this book.It is made up of 38 essays written by some of history's most prominent architects: Vitruvious, Palladio, Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, Koolhaas, Frank Gehry, Gropius, Corbusier, to name just a few.Love, love, love Adolf Loos's infamous essay Crime and Ornamentation. This book gives a person a lot to think about in terms of architecture as art, architecture and its relationship to nature, and what defines an architect. It also has several essays on the future of architecture, one penned by Norman Foster, which I thought was particularly good. I also enjoyed reading the essays by the early pioneers of the Modern Movement, who sought to destroy everything they knew of the previous ages and build anew--basically from the standpoint that every generation deserves to create their own cities and homes and not rely on a past that no longer has meaning. For the budding architure geek, this is the book.A fantastic primer.

A very strongly recommended addition to personal, professional, and academic library Architectural Studies reference collections
Knowledgeably compiled and expertly edited by Krista Sykes (Managing Editor of the 'Journal of 'Society of Architectural Historians'), "The Architecture Reader: Essential Writings From Vitruvius to The Present" is an impressively presented anthology of commentaries encompassing two thousand years of building history. A work of seminal and articulate scholarship, forty key texts drawn from architects of international reputation address key and continuing issues with respect to architecture and design -- including the role of the architect and the relationship of architecture to nature, art, and science. A very strongly recommended addition to personal, professional, and academic library Architectural Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists, "The Architecture Reader" combines historical and contemporary perspectives that are as informed and informative as they are thoughtful and thought-provoking. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

A Great Replica
Unfortunately for book lovers, the earlier editions of this book have been cut up so the handsome plates showing the plans and elevations of stately English country houses could be framed and displayed as interior decoration.This book, a replica of the original contents, provides a valuable reference for those who appreciate a resource of classical architecture at an affordable price.

An epoch-making book finally reprinted
It's been a long wait; as the previous reviewer pointed out, until recently any one interested in this greatest classic of English architecture would have needed to deplete his bank savings in order to get a copy. Fortunately Dover (who else?) finally issued this beautiful reprint of the complete three volumes of Vitruvius Britannicus. For anyone interested in 18th century architecture or the English country house, there can be no greater delight - the reader, as Mr. Campbell in his introduction says he hopes, is indeed 'agreeably entertained' with a rich array of elevations, floor plans, interiors and perspective views. All the greatest houses (Chatsworth, Blenheim, Castle Howard, Grimsthorpe, Drumlanrig, Houghton) are featured, as are many more modest ones, and some that were never actually built, were dramatically changed in later years, or were lost altogether (Lowther castle seems a particular painful specimen of the latter category, by the look of it). In addition, several public buildings (e.g. the Royal Hospital in Greenwich), as well as St. Paul's cathedral and, somewhat incongruously, St. Peter's in Rome, are portrayed. The plates allow detailed study of the composition, proportions and decoration of these masterworks.

As always, Dover also provides the full text of the original, which allows interesting insights into the social world of the early 1700s. The introduction, in which Campbell scolds Borromini for 'debauching mankind with his odd and chimerical beauties', and proudly proclaims Britain at least the equal of Italy in matters of architecture, is an entertainment in itself. The lists of subscribers show that no fashionable nobleman of the time could afford to go without his own copy.

The plates are clearly and beautifully reproduced, on lightly cream-colored paper, without blemishes. My only niggle concerns the two-page spreads, of Castle Howard and Blenheim for instance, where inevitably the centerpiece of the composition is lost in the center fold of the book. Otherwise this is as good as it gets.

A must for architecture buffs
Anyone interested in domestic architecture, especially 18th century British, must have this book.I once priced the original (published in the 1700's)--it goes for about $20,000!That makes this a pretty good deal. ... Read more

Product Description
This Elibron Classics edition is a facsimile reprint of a 1914 edition by Harvard University Press, Cambridge. ... Read more

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Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This Book Is In Latin. Due to the very old age and scarcity of this book, many of the pages may be hard to read due to the blurring of the original text, possible missing pages, missing text and other issues beyond our control. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Good Reprint
If you are interested in rare or out of print architecural material this is a very good buy. Twenty dollars beats multi thousands as long as you are not looking for collectible books.. Dover gives excellent quality in their historical reprints. ... Read more

Product Description
Hegemann and Peets' classic work on city planning was first pubished in 1922. Today, their reference serves as one of the foundation texts for New Urbanism and associated movements. Civic Art presents over 1200 examples of urban planning principles spanning from classic Roman and Greek times through turn of the twentieth century American design. Hegemann and Peets' work provides a highly relevant context through which to evaluate modern city planning. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Finally available
It's great that this work is finally available in a more affordable and compact edition...an architecture and urban planning classic! What more can you say.

The Art of Designing Cities
This is an incredible achievement.It absolutely must be in the library of every architect and architecture student in the world, because we have lost contact with the beauty and social glory of living urbanistically. The architecture we produce supports this suburbanized lifestyle, and theanti social results of this new pattern of living can be seen daily on thenews in all manner of bizarre murders and cultist activity.Well then! Without advocating a style of architecture in particular, this bookadvocates a type of planning that, if we are intelligent enough tounderstand this book, could save this country, and save the world.I donot exaggerate.Buy the book.You'll be a different person for havingpurchased it. ... Read more

Product Description
Approximately 2,025 years ago, an aged Roman architect named Vitruvius wrote down on ten scrolls everything he knew about architecture. He presented this work, known today as "Ten Books on Architecture," to Emperor Augustus in the hope of changing what he perceived as a rampant lack of professionalism and educational rigor in the practice of architecture. The "Ten Books," the most comprehensive architectural book written in antiquity and the only such work to survive, is a seminal volume in Western culture and continues to be an important resource.

"Viturvius on Architecture" presents not only a new translation of the five books most relevant to contemporary architecture but also new drawings and watercolors that illustrate, for the first time since ancient days, Vitruvis's methods of proportion and composition. Architect and educator Thomas Gordon Smith re-created these finely detailed illustrations directly from the text. Also included are many photographs of historic architecture from Greece, Italy, Turkey, and throughout the Mediterranean region. This new edition of an ancient tome is intended for practical application, as an indispensable reference for classical studies, and as an incontrovertible example of the enduring value of the architecture of antiquity for contemporary education and practice. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Architectural Design
Written by a brilliant Architectural Historian, this volume is one of the best on Vitruvius ever written. Very appropriate to Design Architects practicing in the 21st Century, if they are interested in the Basis for true Classical architecture. ... Read more

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Vitruvius (Marcus V. Pollio), Roman architect and engineer, studied Greek philosophy and science and gained experience in the course of professional work. He was one of those appointed to be overseers of imperial artillery or military engines, and was architect of at least one unit of buildings for Augustus in the reconstruction of Rome. Late in life and in ill health he completed, sometime before 27 BCE, De Architectura which, after its rediscovery in the fifteenth century, was influential enough to be studied by architects from the early Renaissance to recent times.

In On Architecture Vitruvius adds to the tradition of Greek theory and practice the results of his own experience. The contents of this treatise in ten books are as follows. Book 1: Requirements for an architect; town planning; design, cities, aspects; temples. 2: Materials and their treatment. Greek systems. 3: Styles. Forms of Greek temples. Ionic. 4: Styles. Corinthian, Ionic, Doric; Tuscan; altars. 5: Other public buildings (fora, basilicae, theatres, colonnades, baths, harbours). 6: Sites and planning, especially of houses. 7: Construction of pavements, roads, mosaic floors, vaults. Decoration (stucco, wall painting, colours). 8: Hydraulic engineering; water supply; aqueducts. 9: Astronomy. Greek and Roman discoveries; signs of the zodiac, planets, moon phases, constellations, astrology, gnomon, sundials. 10: Machines for war and other purposes.

Customer Reviews (2)

The Foundation of Architecture in The West
Vitruvius is the most important architect in the history of western civilization.Though his theories and practices may seem simple or out of date considering modern techiniques, Vitruvius' influence throughout the past 2000 years since his time is immesurable.The great architects of Roman times pointed to Vitruvius as irrefutable source for their architecture.Throughout the Renaissance the architects built upon Vitruvius' Ten Books and wrote a few updates, though no revisions.Bramante, the architect of St. Peters in Rome relied upon Vitruvius for the proportions for this masterpiece.Today only a few architecture schools refer back to this work of genius, notable among these is U. of Notre Dame, an island in the stormy seas of modernity.

The latest translation of Vitruvius
This book is the latest in a long line of translations of one of the worlds most important architectural treaties. It is a careful and thorough translation, in comparison to the former by Hickey Morgen, which misses many points due to the author's minimal knowledge of architectural parctice in the age of vitruvius, and before. I do recommend this book to all architects, and students interested in this pivotal book. ... Read more

Product Description

Vitruvius (Marcus V. Pollio), Roman architect and engineer, studied Greek philosophy and science and gained experience in the course of professional work. He was one of those appointed to be overseers of imperial artillery or military engines, and was architect of at least one unit of buildings for Augustus in the reconstruction of Rome. Late in life and in ill health he completed, sometime before 27 BCE, De Architectura which, after its rediscovery in the fifteenth century, was influential enough to be studied by architects from the early Renaissance to recent times.

In On Architecture Vitruvius adds to the tradition of Greek theory and practice the results of his own experience. The contents of this treatise in ten books are as follows. Book 1: Requirements for an architect; town planning; design, cities, aspects; temples. 2: Materials and their treatment. Greek systems. 3: Styles. Forms of Greek temples. Ionic. 4: Styles. Corinthian, Ionic, Doric; Tuscan; altars. 5: Other public buildings (fora, basilicae, theatres, colonnades, baths, harbours). 6: Sites and planning, especially of houses. 7: Construction of pavements, roads, mosaic floors, vaults. Decoration (stucco, wall painting, colours). 8: Hydraulic engineering; water supply; aqueducts. 9: Astronomy. Greek and Roman discoveries; signs of the zodiac, planets, moon phases, constellations, astrology, gnomon, sundials. 10: Machines for war and other purposes.

Customer Reviews (2)

Vitruvius: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Vitruvius was a First century BC architect who wrote the oldest extant book [Decem Libris]on architecture.These 10 Books have been interpreted and studied on a nearly daily basis since [see for example, VITRUVIUS WRITING THE BODY OF ARCHITECTURE, MIT 2003 by Indra McEwin].The VITRUVIUS PROGRAM was founded in 1988 by my wife and myself as a research curriculum for student Pre-school to Post-Graduate.It is named for a quote from Vitruvius, Book One Chapter One:
"The Architect should be equipped with knowledge of many branches of study and varied kinds of learning, for in the architectural judgment all of the work of other arts is brought to a test.This knowledge is the child of practice and theory.One who professes to be an architect should be well-versed in both directions, being both naturally gifted and amenable to instruction.

Therefore let our architect to be educated, skillful with the pencil, instructed in geometry, knowledgeable in history, follow the philosophers with attention, understand music, have some knowledge of medicine, knowthe opinions of jurists, and be acquainted with astronomy and the theory of the heavens.

Since this study is so vast in extent, embellished and enriched as it is with many kinds of learning I think that no one has a right to proclaim oneself an architect hastily, without having climbed from childhood the the steps of these studies, and thus, nursed by the knowledge of many arts and sciences, having reached the heights of the sacred ground ofarchitecture.

But perhaps to the inexperienced it will seem a marvel that human nature can comprehend such a great number of studies and keep them in memory.Yet the observation that all studies have a common bond of unification and relationship with one another will lead us to the conviction that this can be realized.For a liberal education forms a single body made up of these members.

Those, therefore, who from tender years receive instruction in the various forms of learning, recognize the same stamp on all the arts, and an integration of all fields of study, so that they can more readily comprehendthem all."

Teaching preschoolers to diagram and color drawings, learning the stories told by myth and science through design projects, studying how art, architecture and design can descibe new worlds - this is what Vitruvius taught.The 1929 Granger translation (Loeb) is more literal than the more literary 1914 Morgan translation (Dover), which is substantially cheaper.
Eugene KupperProfessor Emeritus of Architecture, UCLA

The latest and best translation of Vitruvius.
This book is the latest in a long line of translations of one of the worlds most important architectural treaties. It is a careful and thorough translation, in comparison to the former by Hickey Morgen, which misses many points due to the author's minimal knowledge of architectural parctice in the age of vitruvius, and before. I do recommend this book to all architects, and students interested in this pivotal book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Vitruvius’s De architectura is the only major work on architecture to survive from classical antiquity, and until the eighteenth century it was the text to which all other architectural treatises referred. While European classicists have focused on the factual truth of the text itself, English-speaking architects and architectural theorists have viewed it as a timeless source of valuable metaphors. Departing from both perspectives, Indra Kagis McEwen examines the work’s meaning and significance in its own time.Vitruvius dedicated De architectura to his patron Augustus Caesar, the first Roman emperor, whose rise to power inspired its composition near the end of the first century B.C. McEwen argues that the imperial project of world dominion shaped Vitruvius’s purpose in writing what he calls "the whole body of architecture." Specifically, Vitruvius’s aim was to present his discipline as the means for making the emperor’s body congruent with the imagined body of the world he would rule.Each of the book’s four chapters treats a different Vitruvian "body." Chapter 1, "The Angelic Body," deals with the book as a book, in terms of contemporary events and thought, particularly Stoicism and Stoic theories of language. Chapter 2, "The Herculean Body," addresses the book’s and its author’s relation to Augustus, whose double Vitruvius means the architect to be. Chapter 3, "The Body Beautiful," discusses the relation of proportion and geometry to architectural beauty and the role of beauty in forging the new world order. Finally, chapter 4, "The Body of the King," explores the nature and unprecedented extent of Augustan building programs. Included is an examination of the famous statue of Augustus from Prima Porta, sculpted soon after the appearance of De architectura. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Guaranteed to bore the heck...
out of any reader who thinks s/he loves architecture, confusing architecture's greasy, grimy engine of manifestation as a 'built thing' with the SPECTACLE of architecture. The book deals with the ten books by V. It has a lot of Latin, with references to contemporary intellectual influences, namely Stoicism and Pythagoreanism. As much as I respect the author's labor, I must admit, she does get a little dry at times being so sincere (read pedantic) to her calling as a scholar. There is a bit more information than any thinking practitioner of architecture would really need. But then, any thinking architect will know what to cull from this rich feast/tour of the post Civil War Augustan Roman imperium.
So as to not repeat the content of the existing review, I shall speak more of how this book is relevant now by reminding the reader that the structure of the American Imperium is not all that different from the Roman. Just as it was true of Rome, it is still true today that all 'avante-gardes,' despite their rhetoric, work to actually further the Work of Empire. In fact, their very podium on which they utter their battle cries is built into the very structure of Empire.
The current fascination with the idea of 'body' can be, it turns out, traced back to V himself, who was among the very first to use the term 'corpus' to refer to his writing, as well as to architecture. By corpus, he meant 'whole' as opposed to fragments, and there were many commentaries at the time lying about on many a topic, but all in fragments. So V sets out to put it all together into a co-ordinated whole. According to the author, ORDINATIO is a word that crops up often inV's 10 Books but not as often as RATIO. The book makes it clear why these terms do not carry the meaning when translated into Order and Reason, respectively. This is where the author's surgical description of the Roman conception of the world comes in handy as well as fascinating.
The author, unlike the reviewer, finds her own conclusion "unsettling": namely that architecture as V defines it for the rest of the Western world henceforth (V distinguished it from 'building') is, by fate, inextricably tied to IMPERIUM. That is, Architecture IS the shadow of IMPERIUM.
As the archetype of Empire's Architect, V speaks for all architects who serve Empire, all Empires everywhere. While this book makes the modest claim to be looking only at the 10 Book's Roman context, the content, if read carefully, will reveal how V's "prophecy" about architecture is coming to fulfillment more today than ever before now that architecture can move so much faster and shift shape with digital ease, having long ago jettisoned the baggage of the 'perfect proportion/body.'
V was the first to write about the central role of machines (especially machines of war (killing) and spectacle (laughter and forgetting)) in architecture. Le Corbusier was perhaps the last "classical" architect to bring the circle of fate to its point of origination with his saying that, "A house is a Machine for Living in." ... Read more

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"A fascinating demonstration of the savage landscape out of which theovercultivated language of classical architecture emerged." -- AlexanderTzonis, Delft University

Why do architects still use the classical orders? Why use forms derivedfrom ancient Greek temples when ancient Greek religion has been dead forcenturies and when the way of life they expressed is extinct? Any whydecorate a contemporary courthouse with the bones, eggs, darts, claws,and garlands that an ancient Greek would recognize as the trappings ofanimal sacrifice?

With these provocative questions George Hersey begins his recovery ofthe meaning of classical architecture. For the last four centuries, heshows, philology and formalism have drained architecture of its poetry.By analyzing this poetry--the tropes founded on the Greek terms forornamental detail--he reconstructs a classical theory about the originand meaning of the orders, one that links them to ancient sacrificialritual and myth.

In doing so, Hersey reinterprets key tales and taboos that were part ofthe cultural memory of the ancient Greeks. His touchstone is Vitruvius,author of the only surviving classical treatise on architecture, whosestories about Dorus, Ion, and the Corithian maiden, and about theCaryaean women and Persian soldiers, describe the orders as records orremembrances of sacrifice.

Hersey finds revivals of this consciousness in the Italian Renaissanceand throws new light on the works of the architectural theoristsFrancesco di Giorgio and Ceasare Cesariano, and also on Raphael'sDisputá, Michelangelo's tomb of Julius II and MediciChapel, and Hugues Sambin's handbook of termini. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

blood sport
its wonderful to read details regarding the birth of greek architecture, the birth of classicism. the heads above arches, those sorry warriors, beaten. the blood letting flutes, fat dripping thigh bones, guttae from the triglyphs if i remember correctly. no wonder classicism is so haunting - sometimes touching - the echinus shape on the capital of tuscan and doric is also the name for "hedgehog" - its gently sloping butt is the same and also for "little cake" as in the sloping crescendo of a risin cupcake's belly. humane architecture has its birth in death - modernism is only intellectual. a subjective dream of babel. in the study of words are clues to the strength of classical architecture.

Hersey at his best!
I bought this book and finished it the day it arrived. I couldn't put it down. It reads like a detective story for architecture enthusiasts. Hersey begins this work by introducing a cluster of tropes that at first seem disparate items. As he develops his arguments (and there are many) he weaves a beautiful tapestry with these tropes. Hersey brings the roots of Greek architecture alive (literally). If he were a philosopher I would be tempted to compare him to Nietzsche in his ability to uncover the conceptual ruins of ancient art. I also recommend Hersey's other work, but this one is my favorite.

A wonderful, provocative book
The book discusses the persistence of ideas and the ways that ancient belief systems can work their way right into our language and the way we perceive the world.This is certainly a major contribution to thephilosophical literature architectural historians have produced.

Extroadinary
A marvelous marriage of language and the language of Architecture.Finally, someone has had the courage and talent to take this thing back to the (bloody) beginning. I have read it a couple of times, and given it to about 6 friends. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Great book on Vacuum tubes
Contains basic theory underlying the operation of all types of modern vacuum tubes, both radio and industrial , together with their more common applications" 583 pages illustrated with numerous diagrams and several b&w photos.

Eastman was Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Washington. Despite its title, Eastman's book emphasizes applications. Contains a thorough discussion of distortion in amplifiers; with special emphasis on intermodulation distortion. Very strong in transmitting and modulation theory. In addition, Eastman was one of the few authors who could clearly explain the theory of push-pull operation.

Vacuum Tube Reference Book
The most recent book on Vacuum Tubes that I've found so far.

Old technology may get superceded, but it doesn't cease to work. There are probably some situations where vacuum tubes are preferable.

Not a recent book, nor is it comprehensive, so only three stars. Adequate basis for understanding the technology. ... Read more

Product Description
The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: Architecture; ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more